The 1995540i M-Sport and 540i

In late 1995, just prior to switching to the E39 5-series body style for
the 1997 model year (there is no such thing as a U.S. 1996 model year
5-series), BMW pumped one last breath of life into the V8 powered,
E34-bodied, 540i for the U.S. market: The 1995 540i Sport.

They did this by using almost all of the parts that went into the
European 1995 6-cylinder E34 ///M5, except the engine and
transmission. 200 of these 540i Sport models were sold in the U.S. 135 of
them had the 6-speed manual transmission and the rest (65) had the
automatic.

Also in 1995, 32 cars wearing ///M540i badges were sold in In
Canada. These are almost
identical to the U.S. 540i M-Sport cars except they had a few more of the
cool ///M components, like the larger floating rotors in the front (see the table
at the bottom of this page for details).

There is a great deal of confusion about these special cars. This website is
dedicated to clearing up that confusion. Most of this information comes from other
BMW literature, BMW enthusiasts, magazine articles, and my own personal 540i Sport. In
particular, a great deal of credit goes to David Chen
who had (as of 10/22/01 I can't find it anymore) a
website documenting the Canadian ///M540i. I plagiarized from many of David's www.bimmer.org
postings to create this page.

Notes of Interest

The U.S. 1995 540i M-Sport and the Canadian ///M540i are not really
///M5s. First of all the 200 540i Sports sold in the U.S. were all manufactured at the "normal"
BMW plant at Dingolfing whereas all other ///M cars have been built at
the M-Technic factory in Garching. These cars appear to be some of the
last E34 cars off the Dingolfing line. The 32 ///M540is sold in Canada were (apparently) "hand-finished" at
Garching next to the M5s.

In BMWNA's early 1995 literature the 540i with a 6-speed manual
transmission was referred to as the "Sport model" because it
had sport seats and an M-Technic (lowered, firmer) suspension. However,
in the 1996 literature (published in late 1995) they refer to the 540i
with the 6-speed as the "540i manual". The new limited
edition car is called the "540i Sport"
or "540i M-Sport" .

The 540i Sport package was an around $8000 on top of the
regular 540i price. It was Option 812 on the 540i and 813 on the 540iA.
The original sticker for my 540i Sport, the Sport option is listed
as $7,600 (in addition to the $1,500 ASC+T traction control option).

Vol. 2, No. 3 of the M-Driver newsletter says the 540i Sport was one of
the 1995 Exclusive Edition series like the 318ti Club Sport. Their
description is quoted below. They said they were going to do a full review
of both cars in the next issue, although they apparently never did.

"The 540i Sport will, for all practical purposes, be a reincarnation
of the M5. Powered by the torque-rich four-liter V8 engine, it is available
with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed automatic
transmission. It also features M5 brakes, the EDC III electronic,
cockpit-adjustable sports suspension system, and an M version of Servotronic
power steering. This special sedan comes with full M5 bodywork, 17-inch
alloy wheels and tires, and sports seats. ASC+T traction control, limited
slip differential, heated front seats are optional. BMW will import 200 540i
Sport sedans, 135 with stick shift and 65 with automatic transmission."

Car&Driver, in their February 1996 issue had a story on the 1995 540i
Sport. I've got a PDF of the article here.

Table Comparing the ///M540i to the 540i Sport

The table below shows the specs the 1995 540i Manual, the 1995 540i
Sport, and the Canadian ///M540i.

NOTE: I'm still nailing down some of the exact specs for the standard
540i.